The German government demands and supports a better climate in educational facilities
A recent Pisa Study on scholastic achievement disclosed that the quality of education in Germany – despite ambitious state-school curricula – was far from top class. The many following discussions of the failures revealed here laid the blame for this poor showing on the teachers, the pupils and students themselves, and much more.
The media thoroughly discussed this topic, but virtually no commentators posed deeper-reaching questions about the ambience in which young people learn and study in Germany. The size of the classes, the spatial characteristics of the classrooms and lecture halls, and many more factors of course play a major role here. But the quality of air and light are likewise essential.
German politicians are correct in demanding programs to inject billions during 2009 and 2010 into public schools. The present condition of school facilities justifies this support:
The physical plants of German public schools, colleges, and universities have not undergone needed renovation and upgrading for years and even decades by now. And the recently approved public funds will go for just these purposes. The objectives of this investment aid include optimization of energy usage and creation of ambient classroom and lecture-hall conditions that are conductive to better learning.
Educational facilities will directly receive two thirds of the funds earmarked for enhancement of infrastructure. These funds are part of the economic stimulus package recently passed by the German government. The funds from this economic package are intended to be invested precisely where they can achieve short-term economic benefits and ensure sustainable effects for the future. A total of 6.5 billion euros are designated for the field of education alone. A major share of these educational funds is planned for upgrading the efficiency of energy consumption. As a result, educational institutions will be in a position in the coming years to quickly and significantly enhance the learning climate in German schools – including the HVAC share of this climate.
GEA Campos improves concentration in schools and universities
In many schools, normal window ventilation is the only possibility of letting stale air out and fresh air in. As a result, the CO2 content of the air in classrooms is often excessive: which in turn leads to impaired concentration capability, fatigue, and headaches. Although the performance of pupils and students is regularly assessed on a numerical basis, little light is cast on the conditions under which they are expected to study and learn in schools and universities. This is an unfortunate situation, especially since research long ago confirmed that oxygen content, the share of CO2 in the air, and the quality of heat and light have great influence on concentration, performance capability, and the mood of those present in a room.
A report of the Office of Public Health of the German State of Lower Saxony entitled “Investigation of Factors Influencing Room Air Quality in Classrooms, and Models of the Course of Carbon Dioxide Content in Classroom Air” published the results of CO2 measurements made in a fifth-grade class during cool weather. The shocking results: the CO2 level at the beginning of measurements was fairly normal at around 800 ppm – but shortly later, during the first hour of lessons, the carbon-dioxide level had already exceeded the level of 1,500 ppm (the permissible limit for climate-controlled rooms in accordance with German Industrial Standard 1946-2). By noon, the CO2 level was much, much worse: at 4,000 ppm. To supply sufficient fresh air, it was clearly not sufficient to open the windows between classes and during the break. In such facilities, the GEA Campos air treatment system would represent a highly effective solution to provide the required fresh air in classrooms.
